Chapter Nine: The Extremely Difficult Physics Exam

“It was you who said you didn’t need it; I’m not the one refusing to buy it for you,” Jiang Wuyang emphasized as he double-checked with Lin Jiachi.

Lin Jiachi didn’t respond, his anger simmering inside. Although he had said he didn’t want it, couldn’t she indulge him just this once? After all, she used to pamper him, always worried he might go hungry.

Lin Jiachi’s irregular schedule and erratic meals had taken a toll on his health, leaving him with a longstanding stomach ailment. Being the youngest among their group—having started school a year early—he ended up in the same class as Jiang Wuyang.

Jiang Wuyang, ever considerate, took great care of him in every way, bringing him breakfast daily. Lin Jiachi, naturally, accepted it all without question, commanding Jiang Wuyang with a haughty air.

But now everything seemed different. Why wasn’t she spoiling him anymore? The feeling of grievance welled up in his heart, his eyes reddening at the corners.

His breath became uneven with frustration.

Seeing this, Ruan An’an hesitantly stepped forward. “What do you want to eat? Should I go buy it for you?”

Lin Jiachi’s mood was so irritable that even looking at Ruan An’an felt like a blur; his nose and eyes seemed out of place. He kicked the desk beside him in frustration.

“Then go,” he snapped, leaving without waiting for her response.

He happened to run into the English teacher arriving for class.

The teacher, with her wavy curls, donned the latest from a luxury brand, carrying an LV monogram shopping bag filled with teaching materials.

Noticing Lin Jiachi’s angry and hurried demeanor, she grew curious. After all, he was a rare presence at school—usually just sleeping on his desk—and who could have riled him up so?

Despite his temper, she liked him the best in the entire class; after all, he was handsome.

“Lin Jiachi, where are you going?” she called.

Lin Jiachi said nothing, storming ahead with quick strides.

The teacher raised an eyebrow, deciding not to press further, and leisurely walked into the classroom.

She placed her things on the podium and pulled out the textbook.

“Orange Sister looks even more beautiful today!” a boy joked from beneath his desk.

A chorus of teasing boys followed.

Jiang Sicheng gave the first boy a playful glare, her tone light and scolding, “We’re in class, stop chatting!”

“I know you boys are full of energy,” she continued, “I get it. If you’re bored, go play some ball outside. I can play a bit too—maybe you can teach me if you have nothing else to do.”

After adjusting her microphone, she slowly took out the materials from her bag and fixed her gaze on Jiang Wuyang.

“Some people think just switching classes will improve their grades, but English isn’t something you master overnight. It’s more important to maintain a good mindset and study seriously,” she said, subtly directing her words at Jiang Wuyang.

Everyone instinctively looked at Jiang Wuyang, eager for the drama. After all, everyone knew about her attempt to transfer classes from the last incident.

Yet, Jiang Wuyang barely reacted, as if Jiang Sicheng’s words weren’t meant for her. She kept her head lowered, focused intently on the English novel on her desk.

Jiang Sicheng found her pretentious act irritating. With an elegant eye roll, she dutifully passed on a message: “Jiang Wuyang, Teacher Lin Wenyuan wants to see you. Go to her now.”

Jiang Wuyang closed her book. “Now?”

“Yes, right now. Go quickly,” came the casual reply.

Lin Wenyuan, their geography teacher and homeroom teacher, was likely calling about the transfer.

Without hesitation, Jiang Wuyang rose and headed to the office.

Even after putting some distance between herself and the classroom, she could still hear the English teacher’s and classmates’ teasing.

At the office, Jiang Wuyang stood before Teacher Lin.

“Teacher, you wanted to see me?”

Lin nodded. “Here are two science comprehensive exam papers. You can choose to complete one or both.”

“These teachers are from the senior science A class. They will grade your papers later. You can rest assured about the difficulty and fairness.”

Jiang Wuyang understood—it was the placement test.

She nodded politely and greeted the teachers.

Glancing over the papers, she realized Lin’s intention: start with the simpler one and, if she wished, challenge the harder one afterward.

Jiang Wuyang, a top student from Q University, had studied liberal arts and majored in Chinese language the previous life. Yet, to assist her seniors, she had delved deeply into sciences.

Especially physics—she had borrowed a university-level physics textbook to understand robotics thoroughly.

Though her major didn’t allow her to pursue that field professionally, she was genuinely fascinated by robots.

To avoid slowing down her peers, she had tirelessly helped organize materials and taken care of their daily lives.

Meanwhile, Ruan An’an only needed to be coquettish—everything came to her effortlessly.

Thinking this, Jiang Wuyang felt a flicker of irony.

Without hesitation, she took the more challenging paper, pulled a pen from her pocket, and began writing.

Among math and sciences, physics was her strongest suit, followed by biology, with chemistry last.

The physics teacher sitting nearby frowned slightly upon seeing this.

Minutes ticked by.

Jiang Wuyang’s paper gradually filled the once-blank spaces.

When the forty-five-minute bell rang, she had just finished the last stroke.

The exam was supposed to last one hundred and fifty minutes, yet Jiang Wuyang had completed it in just forty-five.

Such haste likely meant... the accuracy would be...

The three teachers exchanged glances, sighed quietly, and shook their heads.

Youth was too impatient.

Teacher Lin looked worried and gently asked, “Are you sure you’ve finished everything?”

“Do you want to check again?”

Sensing the subtext, Jiang Wuyang shook her head.

Teacher Lin sighed, not pressing further, and collected her papers, handing them over to the other teachers.

“Please grade these,” she said.

The physics teacher grew somewhat impatient. He could endure a full one hundred and fifty minutes of invigilation because students were diligent. But this student, he had watched her; she barely spent time thinking, merely highlighting key points and picking answers.

Even the long questions were answered with little contemplation.

The exam was the recent monthly science test, notorious for its difficulty. Since the school’s own teachers set the papers, they aimed to intimidate the new student with particularly hard questions.

Even the class president of their A class, who scored 110 out of 100 total points, only managed 90.

He doubted this student was guessing randomly.

Still, out of respect for Teacher Lin, he decided to grade patiently.

“I’ll start grading; I have other things later,” the physics teacher said.

No one objected; since they were free, they had come to supervise as requested by the school.

Taking the paper, the physics teacher noted the neat handwriting.

He glanced at Jiang Wuyang.

She sat lazily in the chair, head bowed, fingers intertwined, utterly unconcerned about her grade.

His disdain grew.

With such a careless attitude toward studying, he doubted she took anything seriously.

Suppressing his irritation, he picked up a red pen and began grading diligently.